A Week
by robinh
Summary: Kono is a girl on a mission. She has a week to do it. It's not going to be so simple...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This was supposed a one shot. It came out a little (a lot) longer than I have anticipated. So basically, it will be divided into 3 parts. Sorry...

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters and everything else you might recognize belong to CBS...

I have developed a cautious optimism lately about the show. You know, with Kono being more active, and after seeing her working with Steve more... Probably a mistake, though. They will probably ruin it at the end, and I'll have it all blown right in my face... well, can't blame me for trying...

Thank you **quisinart4** for the last push to do this before I go on vacation. You actually make a perfect imitation of my boss...

Hope you'll like this one. Please tell me what you think.

* * *

"Of course you're not pathetic, sweetie" Malia tells her for the sixth time in the last hour "you're an awesome, strong and independent woman, with a remarkable career, who is extremely appreciated and respected by anyone who knows her."

"In other words, and especially judging by this highly exaggerated and unfounded list of qualities you'd recited" Kono looks at her with disdain "I'm _totally_ pathetic."

"You're _dedicated_" Malia says again, her smile never fades. The woman is relentless. Kono wonders, what the hell did Chin ever find in this stubborn and quite obviously, poor judge of character, young wife of his.

"I have no life" she whines. She's been trying to make this point for an hour now, sitting with Malia on the beach, munching on shaved ice, in the middle of what miraculously turns out to be her first day off in over a month. The girl is hopeless. She can't get into her sweet little head that all Kono wants at this point, is someone to agree with her, when she's busy explaining just how ridiculous her life is.

"You have a wonderful life" Malia continues to contradict her. For crying out loud, she's not even listening.

"No I don't" she stands up in front of her "I work twelve hours a day with three guys, who are practically as needy and whiny as... well... as any three guys can be. I have no off times, I work weekends and holidays, I'm always on call. I have no friends, no social life to speak of, and the only people I see are the same needy and whiny guys I work with... for god's sakes, I haven't had a date in more than six months, and even then, it was cut in the middle, because of a god damn case."

"You have friends..." Malia says automatically, but to her credit, she doesn't sound that convinced anymore.

"I have _you_" Kono spits in irritation, sitting back next to Malia on the beach mat "and you work 60 hours a week, too. We hardly meet. Or talk. And anyway, you don't even count because we're practically related, so you _have_ to be nice to me..." she crosses her arms on her chest, shaking her head in astonishment at her poor, pathetic life.

"Is this all about a date?" Malia asks carefully, watching Kono's bowed head in surprise. "Because I can probably hook you up with someone..." she muses "maybe someone from work or..."

"It's not about a date" she snorts "and believe me, you don't want to make someone you like date me. I mean, not with my schedule..."

"You're lonely" Malia offers gently, putting her hand on Kono's shoulder. "You want someone to love you, and hang out with you, and wait for you at home when you get back. You want someone to go to the beach with you, and to send you flowers, and say that you're pretty and sweet, and..."

"No I don't" Kono raises her head, and looks at Malia with an annoyed expression "I don't have time for something like that. Besides, you know what will happen if I'd have a _boyfriend_, Chin will threaten to kill him, because that what he did in the last decade with _every_ guy I dated. Danny will drive me insane after making a fucking list with everything that is wrong with the guy, and Steve... well you know how Steve gonna react to this... I mean, if he'd only suspected someone else has my attention instead of his precious team... I don't think he'd like it one bit... "

"No" Malia says seriously, looking into Kono's eyes "I really don't think Steve will like it. Not at all."

"You see? so I really don't need a relationship or something like that" Kono shakes her head "I only need some... you know..."

"Sex?" Malia looks at her, trying not to laugh "this is all about sex?"

"Yes. Sex!" Kono raises her voice "what's wrong with that? after all, this is a basic human right!"

"Sex is?" Malia looks at her with amusement.

"Yes. Of course it is. I'm a good citizen, I work hard, I pay my taxes, I work for the governor for crying out loud. Is it too much to ask for my rights to be respected? I'm actually considering contacting my congressman about that..."

"The congressman...? why don't you start locally, first?" Malia offers kindly "you know, before you take it to the _federal_ level. You're a bright, sweet, beautiful woman. We both know, you can get any guy you want."

"You think?" she looks at Malia with a doubtful look.

"I'm sure of it."

"You're right" Kono says decisively, after thinking carefully about Malia's words "I can get any guy I want! I'll tell you what, I'm gonna close my eyes now. The first guy who walks by, and sees me, I'm having sex with him. And you know what? I'm having sex with him _within a week_. Just to keep it interesting."

"Fine" Malia laughs "I'll count to five while you do that. Just... don't ever tell Chin I was on boards with this lunacy, because he'll divorce me on the spot."

"It will be our secret" Kono smiles, before she closes her eyes, sits in a lotus position, and inhales deeply.

"1, 2, 3, 4... 5" Malia counts.

"There you are" she hears Steve's voice from above her "we were looking for you everywhere, what's wrong with your phone? come on, we have to go. We have a new case."

()()()

The fact is, that she is not the one to step away from a challenge. Not the one to back out of a bet. Not the one to blame things on others, or make excuses, when things are not going her way. Most importantly, when she sets her mind on doing something, she is not the one to accepts defeat.

So when she finds herself on the beach with Malia, eyes very much open, and very much watching her impatient and quite annoyed boss, towering above her, she has no other choice but to throw all caution to the wind, and take reality heads on.

She stands up from the beach mat, and sends a warning glare towards Malia, who fails miserably when she tries not to laugh. She puts her hands on her hips, and runs her eyes all over his tall and muscular body. She have already seen him shirtless, she can definitely do _much_ worse than him.

"Remember, you have a week" Malia calls after her when she and Steve are making their way to his truck. Little miss goody two shoes, sounds much more enthusiastic than she's supposed to, if you ask her.

"What does she mean, you have week?" Steve asks her curiously.

"It's nothing" she dismisses "just an inside joke. You should have probably been there."

"What's wrong with her, anyway?" he asks again, looking back at Malia who is jumping up and down, still laughing, and waving happily at them.

"Heat shock probably" Kono mumbles, pulling him by the arm "will you stop staring, and move on already? we're on a schedule here..."

()()()

She takes a look at her watch when she climbs to the truck with Steve, it's Sunday, 11 AM. She looks at him with concentration, knowing - by eleven o'clock next Sunday, she'll have him as a notch on her belt, or die trying. He looks at her with a questioning look, seeing the strange way she watches every move he makes.

"What?" he asks in obvious unease.

"Nothing, for now" she frowns "just... never mind, just tell me about the case."

()()()

She is so absorbed with the case, she hardly has a sense of the time running out. By the time they make enough progress, and even the way too intense and overly dedicated boss of hers decides it's time to call it a night and wrap it up for the day, it's already eight PM. When she looks at her watch, and sees him in his office, turning the computer off, and grabs a few of his things, she realizes she actually didn't made a single move in her chess game. She tells herself that her first obligation is for her work. That she can't let her competitive personality, and her desire to prove a point to Malia, interfere with hunting criminals and solving crimes, but when she hears Steve says he expects them all to be there, first thing tomorrow morning, after working through Sunday, She suddenly thinks about her empty kitchen, and deserted, lonely apartment, so she takes a deep breath, and goes to Danny's office, in order to start implement plan A.

* * *

**Plan A - Sunday night - the lower boundaries assumption **

It takes her almost ten solid minutes to get Danny on board. The guy give a fair fight, she'll give him that. He is tired, and still resentful about missing another weekend with Grace, and by the end of his long and detailed rant, she can even start, possibly, see his point. She has no time to waste on his pathetic arguments though, she's on a mission, so he'll have to agree. She has to promise to do his paperwork, to give him three extra free surfing lessons, and to take Grace on a swimsuit shopping expedition, in order to get him to say yes. He goes to Steve's office, sending her a curious look behind his back, she only smiles at him innocently, and tells him to keep going, when he does. He is a very persuasive guy, and he knows exactly where to push, because he gets Steve and Chin to agree to go have some drinks together, in two fucking minutes.

()()()

They sit in a bar having drinks, and she can't help but count every sip he takes. The guy is the most pathetic drinker she'd seen in a million years. It's practically unnerving, because he's drinking so slowly, she has no idea how she'll ever be able to make him drink enough, for him to shed his carefully placed boundaries, and his sense of control. She has to, you see, because if not, he'll start analyzing and assessing everything they do, and it's really not gonna serve her purpose in getting him to bed. Besides, she is doing enough analyzing about this herself, so it will have to cover the both of them... She's not carzy, after all, she has her reservations, and her doubts, and her fears about what she is about to do, too. Maybe this is why she is drinking a little _too much_ than she should, as she's watching him like a hawk, laughing with Danny and Chin. Well, maybe a lot more than she should...

()()()

Chin leaves first. He throws some bills on the table and goes home to Malia. She smiles at him in appreciation, starting to feel a bit hazy, after all the beers and wine she consumed. Danny leaves soon after, saying something about going to see Grace, in the morning, before coming to work. When she looks at her boss beside her, and counts only _two _fucking beer bottles in front of him, she has a bad feeling, that things are not going to work... She probably makes the head movement a little too fast, because she has this awful wave of nausea, that comes at her like a train, she sends a quick terrified look towards him, and runs out of the bar.

()()()

He finds her crouching outside, near the parking lot, after throwing up her guts out. He hands her a bottle of water, and holds her arm when she tries to drink it, hopefully, without dropping on the ground. She tries to avoid his piercing blue eyes, she knows he's pissed, and possibly... disappointed? by her pathetic display of lack of control. He sends a tentative hand, and moves the hair away from her cold clammy forehead, and says "When you're ready, I'll take you home."

She looks up at him, and instead of the expected furious glare, she sees a softer, inquisitive look. She bites her lower lip in regret, and tries to ignore the little tag she has in her stomach, when he still holds her arm, and even smiles at her. His supportive and caring behavior, is actually much much worse...

()()()

They drive to her house in silence. She's still dizzy, and nauseated, and everything is still spinning around her. When they pull in front of the house, he goes around the car and helps her climb out.

"Where's the key?" he asks quietly, when they reach the front door, at this point she's practically leaning against his broad chest.

"Back pocket" she mumbles, feeling his hand going exactly there, and pushing against her jeans.

He helps her inside, but it looks like her wobbly walk is _way too slow_ for his level of comfort, because he picks her up in an instant, and carries her effortlessly to her bedroom. How the hell does he know where it is? oh well, he was here once before, probably made his usual perimeter check when she wasn't looking. He can be very annoying like that, she tells herself, raising her head, and watching his muscular arm holding her legs. He can be very, very, very annoying... she thinks to herself again, and just can't help herself from moving her hand, and touch his beautiful neck.

He is obviously surprised by that unexpected touch. Well that makes the two of them, if she's being completely honest. Fortunately, the alcohol in her system, helps her not to care. He hardly drank anything, so he obviously _does_. He drops her, anything but gently, on her bed, and makes a quick step back, for crying out loud, he's a Navy SEAL, he's supposed to be braver than that... she should tell him exactly what she thinks about his cowardly move, but the bed is so soft, and so comfortable, she just has to lie down, and rest, first... She is already half asleep, while he still stands there, aimlessly, scratching his head in confusion. When he finally moves, she is still awake enough, to feel how he takes off her shoes, and gently removes her jeans.

She is curled up in bed, as he gently puts the covers on top of her, so she could bury her head into the soft pillow, and sleep. The last thing she remembers is his large callous hand, stroking the hair away from her face.

()()()

The next morning she wakes up with a headache from hell. She drinks two cups of coffee, and almost overdoses on Tylenol and Ibuprofen.

When she gets to HQ, wearing her sunglasses, trying to walk in the slower pace possible, that will still get her moving, she hopes no one can tell. She sits in her office, holding her head, hearing in the background the usual morning chatter of her three perfectly composed, and energetic, teammates. Steve is in his usual high alert, and _pushy_ mode, sending them on different assignments. He sticks his head in her office door a minute later, asking "you OK?"

"Perfect" she smiles brightly, but something in the fact that she is still wearing her sunglasses _inside_, makes him laugh in response.

"When you're alive again" he smiles kindly "I need a full background check on the guy's family."

"Sure..." she is still smiling. So they're not gonna mention last night's fiasco. How lovely and sweet her boss can actually be.

"I said when you're alive..." he says after a few seconds when neither move "but I actually meant... do it now."

Well, maybe she was too generous, he's just a pain in the neck as always. She nods in obedience, but using the smallest head gesture she possibly can. He just smiles and goes to see Danny about something else. OK, so last night was a fucking disaster, there's no way to describe it in a more favorable way. But, she is still a girl with a mission. There's no choice. Moving on to Plan B.

* * *

**Plan B - Monday night - the family coalition**

When she tells Malia what happened, it take _seven minutes straight_ until the girl stops laughing. She puts the phone on speaker, looking at it resentfully, while her laughter goes on and on and on. At last she makes her stop, by making a few _whiney comments about her headache_, and appealing to her professional side. It's only partially successful, because when she can finally talk to her, she swears, she can hear the damn woman smile...

Malia finally gets a grip, and is able to listen, and even to inquire about Kono's feelings about the whole dreadful thing. But when Kono mentions how mortified she was, when she realized Steve took her pants off, it causes another uncontrolled fit of laughter, and she's almost forced to hang up.

"You really are, and amazing friend" Kono sighs, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Malia mumbles quickly. For god sakes, she doesn't even sound like she means it!

"Will you please get a hold of yourself, and listen to the next plan?" Kono continues when there's a rare quiet on the other side of the line "I actually need your help, this time."

"Sure, I'm listening" she hears Malia coughs and tries to get a grip. Again "I'll do whatever you need."

"Good" Kono spits "then invite him to dinner, for me."

"Me?" Malia asks is surprise "_I_ don't want to sleep with him. I have Chin..." for a really smart woman, Malia could be awfully stupid sometimes.

"Invite _him_, _and me_ to dinner at your house with _you_ _and Chin_" she explains patiently "it will be like a double date, in a friendly environment, with my family, some good food, in domestic surroundings. He'll be comfortable and relaxed, and while you'll be with Chin, he'll be with me. It will make him think about new possibilities, and I can take it from there..."

"That's actually..." Malia starts, thoughtfully "that's actually sounds pretty good."

"You don't have to sound so surprised" she mumbles.

"But I am" Malia says simply "especially after your last stupid plan..." Yes. Malia can be much too honest for her well being, sometimes.

()()()

Malia does her part meticulously. At eight o'clock, Steve is standing at the door of the Kelly household, wearing a pair of black jeans and button down light blue dress shirt. When Malia lets him in, and kisses him on both cheeks, and making him move with awkwardness at the proccess, she peeks from the kitchen, to watch him. He looks fucking gorgeous. She feels that same tag in the pit of her stomach again. Even so, she tries not to let it get her off track.

()()()

Chin and Steve are sitting at the dining room table, while the girls are in the kitchen finishing with the food. She can hear them talking quietly, and the smell of Malia's famous chicken is wonderful, the atmosphere is precisely what she was aiming for.

"I'm telling you, we shouldn't have waited" she hears Steve say when she and Malia step out of the kitchen "the warrant was redundant, we could have lost him, this way."

"It took us thirty minutes" Chin smiles "we took the time to make a proper arrest. I hate to sound like Danny, but this is the way you actually do police work."

"Here Steve" Malia says, cutting the discussion short "help Kono with the plates, but be careful, its hot." He takes the bowl of soup from her hand, and puts it in front of him without a word "doesn't Kono look nice?" Malia asks in the general direction of the room "she's so beautiful when she wears a dress. You should do it more often, dear."

She looks mortified and Malia. It's true, they talked about trying to present her to Steve in a new light, but there's a difference between a suggested new light, and shoving her forcefully into his face, like that.

"You're beautiful" Chin smiles lovingly at her. There's a high probability, Chin is the best man in the entire world.

Steve only runs his eyes slowly all over her body, makes her feel like she's naked or something, and it takes a few long stressful seconds until he says "I still think we should have just go for it. The guy was a real flight risk. We waited because Danny insisted, but we should have moved earlier, Kono also knows I'm right."

"OK, OK" Malia says while they are all sitting and starting to eat. "No more talking about work. Let's talk about something else."

They all look dumbstruck. Looking thoughtfully at one another. Honestly, nothing comes to mind.

"You gotta be joking" Malia looks at the three of them, stunned " You're all friends. I'm sure you have other things to discuss..."

"I guess the weather is out of the question...?" Kono mumbles sheepishly.

"For god sakes" Malia glares at the three of them, before turning to her guest "Steve, why don't you tell me about yourself. Anything new in your life?"

There's a real possibility it's the first time she ever sees him sacred out if his mind. The terror in his eyes when Malia smiles at him kindly, makes her feel sorry for him immediately. Chin is the best man in the entire world, did she mention that? it's a definite now, because when he sees where this is all going, he bails Steve out.

"If you'll count on Steve to make small talk, you won't get very far" he smiles towards his wife. "I don't think they allow this kind of things in the SEALs."

"They actually don't..." Steve nods in full seriousness.

Malia looks at her young friend pointedly, raising her eyebrow, like she's saying, _are you sure you want to sleep with this guy?_

()()()

They manage to finish eating in a relatively comfortable way, and with a limited amount of work related topics, to keep Malia happy. By the time they get to dessert, even Steve feel at ease, and volunteers to clear the table and make the coffee.

She goes to help him in the kitchen, and they stand there near the counter loading the dishwasher and chatting easily. He smiles openly, and laughs at her jokes, and she feels like her plan is taking the right course, especially when she finds him looking at her more frequently than before. When they go back to the dining room, and she follows him, and gets a nice view of his jeans clad backside, she can almost imagine herself peeling it off of his prefect body, on his bed...

()()()

It's when they are about to finish their coffee, and she looks at her watch, trying to calculate the time it'll take to make their departure, and get to his home, when Chin mentions his new crossbow gun.

"_You have what?_" Kono and Steve cries in astonishment. She can practically feel Steve's level of fascination coincides with her plan breaking apart...

"It's a special device" Chin continues obliviously "I bought it especially for my new version of spear fishing."

"You shoot it underwater?" Steve cries "that's fucking amazing. Can I see?"

The two of them go to Chin's garage, and spend _forty five fucking minutes, there_. _She kid you not_. When, at last, she goes with Malia, to see what the hell they are still doing there, they find them standing at the work bench and reassembling the equipment in high concentration, and talking about fishing in such an animated conviction, like it's a matter of life or death.

"So, you eliminate all concept of range" Steve says in amazement "it's a completely different level, I mean, with the dive and the movements..."

"True" Chin says in his nonchalant way "we're talking about other types of fish. Quicker and with other swimming patterns."

"We can make it even better" Steve says enthusiastically "we can use night vision goggles and try to get some eels or..."

"You mean like, actually doing _night spear fishing_?" Chin says thoughtfully "that sounds dangerous, but if we can do it in a deeper current using a..."

"He's out of his mind" Kono says, crossing her arms on her chest seeing her usually level headed cousin, carried away with Steve's crazy ideas.

"Who Steve?" Malia asks in surprise "according to your and Chin's stories, he acts like he always does."

"Not him" Kono huffs "I'm talking about that weak, pathetic husband of yours."

"Chin?" Malia drawls slowly "maybe he's just trying to be nice...?"

"He's totally in to this stupid fishing shit" Kono declares "I can't believe you're actually thinking about having children with him..."

"Weird" Malia mumbles, shaking her head in amazement "I was just thinking... probably no need to hurry with this..."

()()()

She almost falls asleep on Chin and Malia's couch, while she waits to the end of the evening. When the guys are finally done, and she and Steve can finally make their departure, Malia kisses her, and hugs her, and smiles at her sadly. She only shrugs. Nobody can say she didn't try.

When she gets to her car, and waves to him, saying "see you at work, tomorrow" he doesn't answer, and suddenly looks like he's lost for words. She pulls out of the driveway, and heads home. When she looks in the rearview mirror, she sees him still standing there, hands in his pockets, watching her retreating car.

()()()

She gets home, and gets ready for bed. When she lies there in the darkness, she really tries not to be discouraged. She thinks about her two failed attempts, and decides she probably made some basic mistakes. She should have kept him away from potential distractions. Get him in a secured and enclosed location. She falls asleep after having a new idea, tomorrow she'll start working on plan C.

* * *

A/N: next time: **Plan C - Tuesday night - the home invasion**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hi! I'm back! Long (and busy) vacation. On the agenda: updates for "A week", "Watch Over Me" and "calculated Steps". Will start with this one...

Hope you'll like it.

Please tell me what you think.

Missed you all so much,

R.

* * *

**Plan C - Tuesday night - the home invasion**

She knocks on his door around nine PM. She glances at her wrist watch, waiting for him to open the door - god! it's pathetic! They practically left work no more than an hour ago. When he finally opens the door, he is standing there wearing a pair of old jeans, a white tee shirt and sleepers, watching her curiously.

"Hey Kono" he says eventually, rubbing the back of his head "what's up?"

It's a legitimate question. She totally admits it. Unfortunately, she has no legitimate answer for it. She moves her eyes slowly all over his body, before handing him the six pack she brought, and a nylon bag with a small collection of DVDs.

"I thought you might like to hang out tonight" she says offhandedly, as she pushes around him into the living room, without even waiting for his response "I brought beer, and a lovely collection of war movies, I thought you'd like."

He looks at her with a questioning look, moving his eyes from where she sits on the sofa smiling innocently at him, and back to the six pack in his hand.

"Fine" he says after about a minute of inner conflict "I'll make us some popcorn, then."

()()()

When he's back from the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn and two of her beers, she slides an old world war two movie into the DVD player, and goes to sit next to him on the sofa. It's not her regular preference of entertainment, obviously. She's not _that_ _crazy, but_ he, on the other end is... you see? It's a tactical choice, really. She's on a mission here, so she needs him happy and engaged with their plans for the evening. She knows him well enough to realize there's nothing better than some decent amount of fighting, shooting, and killing, to get his spirits up. World war two is the biggest war ever, with the highest number of soldiers in history, and it'd practically involved the entire globe, how can she get it wrong with this one? When they sit and watch the black and white movie, swallowing the vivid and magnificent recreation of the warfare and the tactical maneuvers, even _she_ gets excited. They both look at the screen, as they dig into the bowl of popcorn, transfixed by the images.

"This is fucking awesome" he mumbles, his hand lingers for a moment in the bowl.

"Brilliant" she agrees whole heartedly, her hand is reaching to the popcorn absentmindedly. When their hands touch accidently, there's a sudden strong electric connection between them, they simply can't ignore. They look at each other in surprise. Their eyes lock. It takes him less than a second to put the bowl on the table and reach for her.

()()()

He puts one arm around her shoulders, pressing her against him, his lips touching tentatively at the corner of her mouth. When she gasps with excitement, and makes a small quiet whimper in response to this gentle touch of his mouth, his only reaction is to kiss her forcefully, and to tighten his hold on her upper body, as his other hand goes to her leg. She can't breath, can't think, as his warm hand makes her shudder with the sensual, and tantalizing touch.

"Steve" she whispers between kisses. Her thoughts are all over the place, as are his hands. In the back of her mind she remembers something about a mission, and the reason she's here, on his sofa, but she doesn't care, everything is swallowed by the burning heat he induces with every move he makes.

"I can stop" he mumbles, his mouth moves to her jaw line, marking it with warm open mouth kisses "if you want to watch the movie, I mean..." he continues with the exploration of her neck.

"It's fine" she hisses, when he reaches a specific sensitive point behind her ear.

"You sure?" he continues, making her gasp with every slow kiss and every warm and lingering touch of his tongue "they're showing the invasion to Normandy. It's the most important sea invasion in the history of mankind."

"It's fine" she groans "it's only a sea invasion. Saw one, seen them all..."

"It's the most important military endeavor done in the war. It practically saved the world from the Nazis" he argues. For god sakes, how can he make this leveled conversation when his mouth and hands are doing all these things to her. If this is the amount of concentration he has while _making out_, she can't even imagine what he'd be like when they actually get to the _sex part_. The mere thought creates a surge of need in her entire body. "The ability of the Navy to actually bring about this operation, was the key element in liberating Europe" he continues.

She shouldn't say anything. She knows it. She should just sit there, and let him work his magic all over her burning body, and keep her big mouth shut. She should think about her main objective here, and about the amazing fact that she's going to fuck this beautiful and sexy SEAL, that is currently sucking on her neck, and moving his hand between her legs, and she should concentrate on trying not to scream too loud when he's taking his fucking time. She should really do all this. Definitely, unequivocally, unquestioningly should... Unfortunately, she is not built this way.

"The Army" she groans quietly, holding his head in place, trying to make him continue what he does.

"Excuse me?" he raises his head in surprise, looking into her face. She looks back at him, mortified. By the curious look he sends her, she already knows she had just screwed it up. Well... maybe _screwed it up_ is not the right choice of words...

"The Army" she repeats "the Army had actually liberated Europe. They moved mile after mile, clearing western Europe from enemy forces."

"The Navy brought them over there" he cries with indignation "D day was about invading a whole fucking continent. No Army could have ever done that. The whole fucking world would have been speaking German if not for the..."

"You're out of your mind" she cuts him midsentence "the Russians came all the way from Moscow to Berlin, after their country was almost in ruins. They liberated the entire east, which is much bigger than the western side, and they didn't cross _any sea_ on their way..."

"The entire fight for control over the oceans... the submarines... the coasts in the pacific..." he sits up listing the Navy involvement in the war, with rage in his eyes.

"I didn't say the Navy hadn't done anything" she tries to explain, but she's too worked up with this heated discussion, she can see it won't help them reconcile their differences, at this point.

"You said enough" he grumbles, raising from the sofa and grabbing his beer from the table.

He stands in front of her, sipping angrily from his beer, and she sits there looking back at him. He looks desperately at her, and she tries not to cry from the frustration and guilt that threaten to drown her.

After a few minutes, she gets up from the sofa, straightens her shirt, and her messed up hair, and walks out of the house. She can still smell him all over her, and her lips are still sensitive from his warm kisses. The fact that he doesn't even try to stop her from leaving, is the worst part.

()()()

She stands with Danny at the smart table, and goes over the last case's reports one more time. It's a slow day. They have no new case. They are practically looking under the floorboards for things to do. When Steve walks in, from his meeting with the governor, he walks silently past them towards his office. It's a damn shame Danny is such a good detective, or as she like to think about it, a god damn _nosy parker_, because he doesn't miss the resentful glare their boss sends her, before he disappears behind his office door.

"What did he do?" he asks, leaning on the table and looking at her tiredly.

"Who, Steve?" she asks, genuinely surprised "he didn't do anything..."

"Don't give me that" Danny shakes his head in what can only be described as disappointment "it's obvious you two had a fight or something. Obviously, I know you both well enough, to determine it's _his_ fault. _What did he do_?"

"Well..." she looks back at Steve's closed door, biting her lower lip with concern "actually it was my fault this time... I think I have accidently insulted the Navy..."

"What?" Danny shouts at her in alarm "are you out of your mind?"

"It was an accident..." she tries to explain.

"There are three things we do not do in this organization, officer Kalakaua. Can you remind me what they are?"

"Common Danny..." she looks at him with annoyance.

"Three things" he ignores her "three simple rules we all go by, in order to keep our control freak, emotionally damaged and overbearing boss, in a relatively stable state." For god sakes, she looks at Danny with trepidation. The guy's on a roll now.

"I know the rules Danny" she tries to avoid the lecture.

"I'll remind you" he ignores her again "just to play it safe. We _do not_ eat junk food when he's around, we _do not_ ask him straight questions about his feelings, and under any circumstances we never ever ever _trash the fucking Navy_."

"I did not trash the Navy" she tries to defend herself.

"Oh yeah?" he asks with contempt "what exactly did you say?"

"I merely suggested that D day was not the sole reason the allies won world war two, and that the Army had a major contribution to the..."

"You had a discussion about the Navy's role in world war two?" Danny asks incredulously.

"Well... yes..." she confesses.

"What kind of person are you?" he looks at her with disgust "you actually let him talk you into these crazy situations? I mean, the two of you together... it's like... Instead of being a positive influence on him..."

"You're right" she grumbles. She's the first to admit it was a tactical mistake.

"Now go apologize to him" Danny shakes his head in despair.

"What?" she looks at him like he's crazy "why should I? I didn't do anything wrong."

"You are doing it for me" Danny notifies her "I'm his partner, he's riding with me all day long. If he's going to be like that all day, I might get killed. I have a daughter, you know."

"We don't even have a case" she tries to argue "you're not going to ride anywhere..."

"This is why you have to do it" he declares, going around the table and pushing her towards Steve's office "you know how he gets in those days when he has nothing to do, he gets all jerky and hyperactive. You_ have_ to apologize, it's a matter of public safety."

()()()

"I'm sorry about yesterday" she says quickly when she enters his office, after he waves her in from behind his closed door.

"I'm sorry too" he says quickly, looking at her with a pair of burning blue eyes. It's weird. His eyes are watching her every move, like he's looking for something in her face to tell him... tell him what exactly?

"A slow day..." she says eventually, after the silence becomes almost suffocating.

"Yeah" he sighs, sitting back in his chair "I hate these days..."

"Let's go hiking" she offers unexpectedly.

"What?" he smiles "in the middle of a working day?"

"We have nothing better to do" she shrugs "we'll have our phones with us, if something comes up, Danny and Chin can get us in no time."

"Fine" he says after a few moments "I actually know a place for a perfect hike. Go get your gear, I'll tell Danny."

"Sounds like a plan" she smiles enthusiastically, before leaving the room. It actually _does_ sound like a plan. A great plan. It will be them and the sky, and the mountains. Far from everybody, doing a thing he loves to do. She'll let him lead, like he was leading last night. The adrenalin of being in action, will take care of the rest. She goes to her office to find her shoes. It's perfect. It can never fail.

She is not even half surprised when it _does_ fail, eventually. Fails spectacularly.

* * *

**Plan D - Wednesday - ****The common ground attraction**

He takes her to his favorite spot on the Hau`ula Loop Trail. It's a relatively short trail, but he swears the view is amazing, and claims that although it's not a difficult trail, there is a unique sense of solitude and elation during the hike. It's funny. He actually sounds apologetic when he says it. He goes on and on about the trail, explaining things about elevations and visibility and other features in the terrains, but she hardly listens. He looks so excited and energetic with their little spontaneous adventure, she can't help but smile at how cute he can actually be. He sends her a questioning look, when he notices she never says anything. She just smiles back at him, when he does that, and moves her eyes from his beautiful face back to the road.

()()()

They walk the trail side by side. He was right, the place is no less than amazing. They walk up the ridge, through groves of planted ironwood and it's simply beautiful. The only sound around them is of birds, of the wind moving the leafs gentley, and of their feet walking on the wet ground. They don't talk, only concentrate on the natural scenery around them, it's perfect. When they have to climb a narrow path, he walks in front of her, and she can't overlook his steady and slow walk, and the way he looks around him, leading them surely in a comfortable pace. It makes her realize how much at home he feels in this place.

When they walk around the makai side of the ridge, there's a certain moment when the great views of Hau`ula and the ocean are spread beneath them.

"It's amazing" she gasps, when they stand there looking over the ridge.

"It is" he nods "when I was young, my father used to take me here."

She looks at him in amazement, it's such a rare event for him to talk about his father. When he does, he normally talks about the murder investigation, or about Wo Fat, or Shelburne. This time, with her, it's different.

"It's a good spot" she says quietly, hoping to keep him talking "I got so used to experiencing the island through the ocean, I forgot there's another way to look at it. Like from here, from above."

"That's exactly what my father used to say" Steve looks at her, his eyes wide with excitement. "The last time he took us here, Mary and me. It was just after my mother died and just before he sent us away. He told us to remember to always look at things from a few different angles. I don't think I've ever got exactly what he was talking about. "

"Perhaps he wanted you to remember the island" she offers.

"Maybe" Steve says quietly. "Mary was so young. She kept complaining about everything, and he had to carry her back to the car. By the end of the day it was all pretty bad, with all of us fighting and arguing..."

"You remember it now" she says, hearing the regret in his voice "you remember what he tried to say, now. I think it worked, at the end."

"You're right" he smiles towards her "he wanted me to remember to look at the things around me in a different light. I think I'm starting to do exactly that, now..." he steps towards her slowly, his hand goes tentatively towards her hair, moving it away from her sweaty face "Kono... I..."

She can sense his warm hand near her cheek, and she can see his eyes flicker towards her half open mouth. It's magical. Just like last night was. She tries to smile encouragingly to him, despite the anxious excitement she feels, when the gunshots are heard.

"What was that?" he stops mid motion, and raises his eyes towards the sound. For crying out loud, this can't be happening!

"Gun shots" she exasperates "you said there's a hunting area close by, must be a hunter, then" she makes a small step towards him, trying to reclaim his attention.

"It didn't sound like a hunting gun shots" he mumbles, right before a second burst of shooting is heard. Shit! he's right!

"_Automatic_" they both cry at the same time. They pull their guns quickly and make a short run to the direction of the sounds. They make a careful approach, with Steve in the lead, searching for movements. They find a small clearing in the middle of the wood, with two dead bodies lying there. When they look around, Kono can recognize the tracks of a 4X4 vehicle, behind the woods line. She signals to him with her head, and he takes out his phone and calls Chin and Danny.

"I think we've caught a new case" he smiles towards her, doesn't even bother to hide his pleasure.

"Of course we have" she sighs, shaking her head in resignation. Who was she kidding, really? by the rate her plans keep blowing up in her face, she could have bet something like that would have happened.

()()()

"It's not funny" she clarifies.

"I beg to differ" Malia says from the other side of the line.

"I really thought I made some progress..." she muses, looking into her refrigerator, finding nothing there, and slamming the door in annoyance.

"Well... you did make out" Malia says encouragingly "he's obviously interested..."

"He's not _that_ interested" Kono says dryly "I really thought we had a moment there on the ridge, just before he heard the shots. You should have seen his face, all lightened up and glowing with happiness. I swear, he didn't show even half the eagerness when he had his tongue down my throat."

There's another fit of laughter when she says it. For god sakes, Malia is the worst conversationalist in the entire world, every little word makes her laugh. It's lucky Chin is such a serious and intense person, other way, they wouldn't get anywhere. She can practically picture Malia bursting out laughing during his proposal.

"It's not funny" she tries again.

"It's actually hysterical" Malia notifies her.

"My time is running out" Kono reminds her. "I have to think of a new plan. Fast."

"Well..." Malia says thoughtfully "you said you had a moment up in the mountains. Obviously he feels comfortable and happy outdoors. You should try the outdoors again. Only make it _your outdoors_, this time."

"My outdoors?"

"Yes" Malia says simply "the hiking was great, but it was _his place_. Take him to where _you_ are the stronger one, where _you_ have the advantage, and _you_ feel more comfortable than him."

"Surfing?" she asks with confusion.

"Surfing" Malia says brightly "take him surfing. If he says no, you can suggest that he's scared you're better than him. That should do it."

Malia is probably the most amazing, brilliant, creative friend she had ever had. It's not a big sample, come to think about it, but it still counts. She calls him on his cell phone, and offers surfing tomorrow morning. He says something about his running and his swimming, but she dismisses him quickly and hangs up before he has the time to say no. She'll have him watching her riding the waves, in her small bikini, all wet and exhilarated by the adrenaline rush. A few seemingly innocent touches, maybe helping him dry himself with the towel... she'll have him in bed with her even before breakfast. She goes to sleep feeling very confident in her plan.

* * *

**Plan E - Thursday morning - ****The upper hand postulation**

It takes her almost an hour to choose a swimsuit. She rolls her eyes at her own reflection in the mirror, when she examines the _fifteen_ small bikini in a raw. Her mother always told her it's unladylike to roll her eyes, but given the pathetic position she's in, and given the fact that she is trying very hard to get into her boss's pants, she figures rolling her eyes is the least unladylike thing she actually does, these days.

When they meet at her favorite spot, and she sees his appreciative smile, at her appearance, she feels a little better about her miserable and pathetic morning.

()()()

They surf for about an hour, and he's actually better than she had expected. He has a heavy body, and his movements are not as graceful as hers, but he's strong, and he has long legs and it gives him some advantage after the wave breaks. He seems to like it too, and he smiles and laughs a lot, even when he finds himself pulled by the waves to the bottom of the sea. He has enough experience with the currents, and he's confident, it's really fun to do it with him.

After an hour, they are ready for a short break. she moves her board towards his, and they sit there together looking back at the shore, and at the big mountain above it. The beach that was empty when they first came there, in the early dawn, already occupies a few tens of swimmers and surfers in this hour. But in the water, it's still relatively quiet. They sit on their boards, alone, and move with the waves, in deep sea.

"It's great" he tells her, smiling in that special way of his. She loves his smile. It's a rare occasion when he smiles like that, but she thinks she saw him smiling more than usual this week. Maybe it's because she was hanging around him all the time. Usually he's with Danny all day long. For all she knows, he might be smiling like that for Danny, too. She watches his bright eyes, and his messed up hair, and his naked upper torso. She really hopes he doesn't...

"Want another round?" she asks smiling, letting her leg touch his, in the water. He pulls her board roughly closer to him, and kisses her shoulder unexpectedly "yeah" he whispers in her ear, making her shudder under the elevating sun. "I'll just put some more wax on my board, and we'll have another one."

"Good" she smiles into his face, which almost touches hers.

"Good" he smiles back "and then I'm taking you home, and making you breakfast."

"_Very_ good" she whispers, before he is already on his way back to shore.

()()()

It takes him a long time. It takes him a _fucking_ long time. When it's already twenty minutes, and he still doesn't show next to her, she finally sits up from her slumped position on the board, and looks anxiously towards the coast line. She can't see him at first. The sun is in her eyes, and there are too many people on the beach. She sees a group of elders practicing Tai Chi, a few people walking their dogs, a group of young women in minature bikinis gathered around a surfing instructor, a few sunbathers a few swimmers, but no Steve. It takes her a few moments to realize that the 'surfing instructor' is actually Steve, and that he is surrounded by that group of models wannabes. It's the first time in her life she regrets her bikini prevents her from carrying a gun.

()()()

When she reaches the shore, and walks purposefully towards him and his group of admirers, she has to hold herself from hitting someone. They are practically slobbering all over him. It's not funny, by the way they drool, he might actually drown. They send him worshiping looks, and flirt with him shamelessly, presenting their bodies, and giggling with his every word. Two particularly courageous girls are practically touching him in the most slutty way possible. She takes a look at his face, he just stands there, smiling awkwardly, moving his eyes from one girl to the other, not sure how to get away from this stupid situation he got himself into.

He sees her standing there with her board stuck in the sand, her hands on her hips, shaking her head with rage.

"Wait, Kono" he shouts when she pulls her board again, and makes her way towards her car. It looks like he finds it quite difficult to disentangle himself from the group of these young, half naked women, because when he reaches her car, she's already sitting behind the wheel, ready to drive away. "Kono, please... I didn't..." he starts, grabbing the door handle.

"You're seemed to be enjoining yourself" she spits through the open window "don't let me ruin your fun."

"Common, babe. It's hardly my fault..." he flashes a seductive smile towards her. The bastard, he knows exactly what his smile does to her. She has a tiny moment in which she thinks about cutting the engine and go out of the car, but at the precise same moment she hears one of the girls calling him "it's not fair commander, you only gave your phone number to Mia, I want it too."

"You're fucking kidding me" she looks at him in disgust.

"She said she needed help with some police matters" he tries to explains, probably realizing how stupid it sounds when he actually says it out loud.

"What kind of man are you?" she looks at him incredulously "can't you tell when a woman is hitting on you?"

She drives off, leaving him behind, wearing a stunned expression. She thinks back on the last five days. The answer is probably _no_. There is no way he can tell when a woman is hitting on him...

* * *

A/N: next time: **Plan F **-**The Violent solution**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Thank you all for your sweet and lovely reviews. You made me so happy. I want to thank everyone who read this fic, the ones who favor and follow it, and especially to those who take the time to leave me some words. You are amazing.

This is the third part of what originally was supposed to be a single one-shot fic. Please tell me what you think.

* * *

**Plan F - Thursday - The Violent Solution**

She returns from the beach and storms into the big room in HQ, to find Danny and Chin standing together next to the coffee machine. When she makes her _expressive_ entrance, they take one look at her and know something is up. The look on Danny's face, suggests that he knows exactly who is to blame, too. Before he has the opportunity to start with his interrogation and to, undoubtedly, inform her it's all her fault for hanging around her emotionally challenged and uncivilized boss too much, she sends him a warning glare and goes to the smart table, to work.

She tries to open the files from yesterday's case. She was working on the identification of the bodies, trying to match them against the national database, but when she tries to find the file she was working on, it's nowhere to be found. What the fuck?

"HPD took everything" Chin explains when he sees her scrolling anxiously down the files "it looks like the murders were a part of an ongoing case they were working on in the last couple of weeks."

"What?" she shouts at the both of them, sending them a murderous look. She knows it's hardly their fault, but she really can't help it.

"We're off the case, babe" Danny says shrugging "don't worry about it, you know it can happen sometimes."

"No way" she shakes her head with a protest "_we_ found the bodies, it's _our_ case..."

"It's a jurisdiction thing, cuz..." Chin foolishly tries to use reason with his obviously unreasonable relative "and they've made a real progress with it so far, so it's actually..."

"We'll see about that!" she cuts him off in the middle of the sentence as she shoots out of her place, to make her way swiftly towards the exit. They probably know better than to try and stop her, because instead of doing anything they just stand there talking about her like she's not even there.

"She's going to kill someone" she hears Danny muses behind her retreating back "she'll kill Duke for this, and it will be _our_ fault for not stopping her."

"So you want me to go after her?" Chin asks in confusion.

"Of course not" Danny huffs "don't be ridiculous. I need you here with me when Steve comes back and we'll have the _exact same_ discussion all over again."

()()()

She always thought Duke was a really nice person. Now, she has a proof of that. When she storms into his office, and he really seems happy to see her, despite of everything, it makes her nip her furious outburst right in the bud. He invites her to sit down, and offers her peppermint tea. Then he asks after her cousin, and about the rest of the Five-0 team. He tells her he wished they'd all come more often to HPD, and be a more integral part of the official police force, and she tries her best to explain it's actually better to keep Steve _away_ from other law enforcement authorities, because... well... she can only imagine the amount of damage and paperwork his questionable actions would create. He doesn't looks convinced. Like everybody else she knows, he is in love with _him_ too, so she just smiles kindly and informs Duke, that he can probably do much better without the overbearing commander, or as she puts it, _that big pain in her neck in blue_... He laughs at her words, and she laughs in return, and she tries to forget that he _genuinely_ thinks she's joking.

It's all so nice and relaxed, that when they get to the reason of what brought her there on the first place, he's so lovely and nice and considerate, she is much too embarrassed than to start _bitching _about losing her case. She mumbles some noncommittal words about the low work load of the recent week, and he listens to her objections patiently and expresses his most sincere understanding of her feelings and misgivings about the recent change in jurisdiction. All and all it's a very nice an pleasant conversation, but by the end of it, she realizes she's actually at the exact same place she was at the beginning.

Before she leaves though, Duke asks her to stay for a while. Now, that she has basically nothing else to do. They've recently opened a new training center in the cellar, and as a former HPD cop, he encourages her to try it out. She is _still_ a bit riled up over the morning's occurrences, and she suspects that _he's_ back in HQ by now. So she takes Duke up on his offer, and goes to the cellar, just to see if she can find a way to burn away some of her anger, and go back to work with a more stable state of mind.

()()()

It's fucking amazing. The whole place is shiny new and has the most modern equipment money can buy. It's big and it's well organized, she estimates it can hold a training session of at least fifty guys. She has the whole place to herself, she looks around her in awe, then she takes off her shoes, and her top, and stays in her bikini top and her pants and starts using the punching bag in the big ring she finds in the middle of the room. She works a good sweat for about twenty minutes, her muscles burn from delicious pain, and her pulse is pumping steady and fast. She is filled with energy and excitement and adrenaline, when he says "You should keep your knee in a medial alignment, it will give your kick a better aim."

Is he fucking kidding her? "are you fucking kidding me?" she turns around to see him standing against the wall, arms crossed, and tattoos peeking under his short and tight sleeves. How long has he been watching her? What the fuck is his problem? how dare he just come here, after his behavior this morning, and criticize her... let her assures him, _impeccable _kick?!

"You think you can do better?" she spits towards him, moving a strand of black sweaty hair behind her ear. He only flashes her with his arrogant smile. Of course he bloody thinks he can...

()()()

They stand together, barefoot, in the middle of the ring. Blue narrow punching bag hanging between them. He shows her his idea of a perfect high angle kick, and she shows him hers.

He kicks the punching bag dead center. The brand new equipment almost breaks from the force. She kicks him on his left upper chest, it's not even half as hard, but he is so surprised, she feels like she'd made her point.

It escalates from there pretty quickly. The sparring, that is. Well... and something else, too. The only sound in the room is of flesh hitting flesh, and their heavy breathing, following every move. She really does her best, trying to focus on the technique, but the feel of his touch on her exposed upper body, sends spikes of warm electric want down to her very core, _each and every fucking time_. He doesn't say a word, only focuses on avoiding her blows. She can feel his muscles tighten every time he touches her, and it's getting dangerous more and more and more...

He catches her eventually, and keeps his strong arm across her chest, pressing her back to his sweaty body. She steps on his bare foot unexpectedly, and he releases her, either from the pain, or from surprise at her action. She tries to keep the sparring for a few more minutes, because she can see where it's leading, and after so many days, she suddenly has cold feet, when it looks like the real deal is about to happen. He just steps forward slowly, not really playing anymore, just trying to avoid her well targeted fists, she's already in the midst of avoidance maneuvers. It's getting so fucking close...

"I'm still mad at you, you bastard" she cries in frustration "don't you think I'm not."

"I don't care" he tells her quietly "and I actually have no idea what it is that I've done wrong."

She thinks she tripped. Yes. Tripped. She'll go with this one if you don't mind. Because it can happen when you fight your way backwards, and try not to engage with the enemy... could actually happen to anyone. So yes. Tripping is the main reason why this had actually happened, his arrogant and self centered declaration didn't make all that difference, she swears... Well... she hopes. The fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, she finds herself launching forward and smacking him forcefully across the face.

()()()

"You've punched me" he cries in indignation from the floor.

"We were sparring. It was bound to have happened..." she mumbles from above him, hands on her hips.

"You broke my nose. I'm bleeding" he continues as he spits some blood dramatically on the floor. She honestly suspects he's doing it for theatrical reasons, so she consciously doesn't let it work.

"Consider yourself lucky" she notifies him coldly "It could have been _your balls_, wrong alignment of the knee, notwithstanding. You've got some nerves, you know..."

()()()

"What are you trying to do to me?" Danny shouts at her when they're back in HQ, and Steve goes straight to the change room, to clean himself up, and undoubtedly avoid the anticipated uproar of his partner.

"I'm not trying to do anything to you" she tries to act nonchalant about it and fails "it was an accident."

"An accident? are you fucking kidding me? did you look at the sight of him? he looks like he fell under a truck."

"We were sparring at the new training center at HPD..." she starts to explain.

"You did what?!" Danny looks at her in mortification "why?"

"Well... we had nothing better to do, since they pinched our case, and it's a really nice place all new, and modern, and..."

"You were bored?" he looks at her like she's crazy "_you were bored, and it was there?_ this is your final version? I swear I get better excuses from Grace..."

"It was fun... " she tries to dismiss him, but unfortunately, she can start see his point.

"I'll tell you something I told Grace when she was about three years old" he shakes his head at her in disappointment "because unfortunately, it looks like with the two of you, it might still apply. It's only fun until someone gets hurt." Yeah, she has to agree. He certainly got that right.

He sends a worried look towards the closed door of the change room, and she starts to feel bad, which she suspects makes Danny all happy and warm deep inside. For a while they just stand there quietly, trying to figure the whole mess out.

"So..." she moves her eyes to the closed door of the room containing her bleeding boss "you think I should apologize?"

"Yes, you should" he nods at her with a smile "It's the second time this week, so you should be quite good at it by now..."

()()()

She walks into the change room to find him standing in front of the mirror, dubbing his bleeding nose with some tissue paper.

"Here, let me" she walks past him, and stand there in front of him, applying pressure to the base of his nose. She bites her lower lip in regret when it makes him hiss with pain, but she looks him in the eye and continues to do it, anyway.

"Keep your head straight. It'll stop in a few minutes." She mumbles, and he stops moving and just stands there, doing what she says. "I'm sorry, Steve. It wasn't my intention..." she tells him simply. He just looks back at her seriously and doesn't even answer. He looks into her eyes pointedly and steadily, and she's wondering, what goes through his mind. There's a hint of accusation in his clear blue eyes, and it almost makes her cry. "I'll make it up to you..." she says quickly without even thinking "I'll buy you dinner. Anywhere you want, you choose..." It takes ages and ages of that tense aimless standing after she says it, that he still doesn't answer, and she doesn't know what to do with herself, all embarrassed and awkward, still holding his nose.

The bleeding stops eventually. When she moves the tissues away and looks at his face, he looks just as beautiful as ever. Well... there's that large bruise under his left eye and the red mark on his cheek, but he's practically fine.

They wash their hands in silence, and he changes his shirt, causing her to gasp involuntarily when he stands there half naked in front of her for a second. He walks to the door, and presses the handle. Just before he walks out he says "eight o'clock. Tomorrow night. I'll tell you where."

He gets out of the room, leaving her standing there.

* * *

**Plan G - Friday night - The proper date constellation**

She gets to the restaurant two minutes before eight. Well, She lies. She was there from seven thirty, sitting in her car, watching the hands of her clock move so fucking slowly, it looks like they're having a day off. She knows she's the lady here, and she's not supposed to be there right on time, and she should let him sit there and guess where she is for a while... at least _she thinks_ she read all this stupid nonsense in one of these awful women journals, once. Unfortunately, there's no use in trying to apply this kind of rules in this case. First, because she's been much too anxious in the last hour and a half, than to wait any longer for a carefully planned entrance, and second because letting Steve McGarrett _guess_, is probably the worst mistake she can ever make.

()()()

When she walks inside, he's already there. She spots him immediately, sitting near a table reading the menu curiously, sipping from his water. When he looks up, and sees her, and automatically stands up to greet her, she has to admit she is somewhat surprised, but she feels it's a bloody good start.

He wears a button down white shirt, and a pair of really dark blue jeans. He cleaned up nicely, she's happy to notice. He is clean shaven, and his hair is combed back in a sweet and messy kind of way. He is the most handsome man she has ever had the pleasure of falling for. _Yes. Falling for_, it becomes quite clear, the minute she sees him, from where she's standing at the door.

()()()

They sit there together, and it's not even awkward. It's like all the anger and frustration have dissipated in the air. They talk about everything, like they're used to, about cases, and operations, and about their team. He seems very relaxed, and happy, laughing a lot, as they eat and drink together. He tells her about a few of the problems he had with the governor, and she tells him what she thinks will be the right approach. He listens very carefully, and he nods a lot when she gives him her advices. She asks about Mary Ann and he answers, and even though she can see he's not used to talk about her with such ease, he is willing to let her in on it for a few moments, and it's the most beautiful gift he could ever give.

It's a lovely evening, and the food is great, and she notices the way his eyes move from her eyes, to her lips, to her well arranged cleavage. It's the most enjoyable night she had ever had, and when he pours some wine to her glass, tentatively reaching with his warm big hand, to capture hers on the table, she takes one look into his ocean colored eyes, and she knows. _He's hers_.

When the waiter brings the dessert, there's a moment of silence, when their hands are still touching. When he opens his mouth, to ask something, and she feels shivers go from her scalp all the way down to her lower spine. When she thinks to herself, that she should have done all of this much much earlier, Danny shows up, and dramatically sits down.

()()()

"Oh, a Chocolate Mochi" he cries with a smile, taking Steve's fork, and digging into the brown dish. The both of them just look at him in pure shock. "What?" he says with his mouth full "you're obviously not gonna touch this _unhealthy_ shit." When they both still stare at him, incapable to offer any answer, even Danny can tell there's something he misses.

"Did you invite him here?" she looks at Steve with alarm.

"Of course he didn't" Danny answers for Steve, still eating _her food_ "why would he need to invite me to a team's outing? he asked me about this place, because I brought Gabby here once, so it made me want to come here, too." He can probably see her sending Steve daggers from behind her eye lids, and he can see Steve shake his head at her with a solemn expression. "Wait..." he seems to be registering all of these suddenly, moving his eyes between the both of them " Is this... a date?!"

She can see the realization spreads all over Steve's face, when he asks this. She claps her hand on her forehead. She can't believe it, did he just figured this is what it was? she should have tried to fuck Danny, and forget all about him, the guy is a pain in the neck, chatty and resentful, but at least he knows what's the _man's role_.

"Do you mean, am I currently having a date with the two of you?" she huffs with annoyance "then, the answer is no."

"Thought so" he mumbles, taking another bite of the brownie.

"Don't touch that" she sticks her fork into his hand, satisfyingly making him shout from the pain.

"What's your problem" he pushes back "I'll get you a new one. There's enough for everyone."

They sit there in silence, watching Danny devouring his pie. After that, they watch him devouring hers, too. "It's really good" he tells them between bites "you should definitely try it. If you want, we can order another bottle of wine, too."

()()()

Steve pays the bill. It takes Danny at least ten minutes to finish the discussion about this fact. He offers to take some pictures, and looks very pleased with himself when he mentions how he never thought he'll ever see the day. Then they walk out to the cars, and stand there, thinking of what to say. Danny doesn't seem to make any movement, for a long long time, so the three of them are just stuck there in a dead end. She can see Steve's furious expression, but she can't really help, because she's way too busy imagining Danny thrown into shark infested water, and being eaten alive.

Steve is the decisive one at the end. He grabs her elbow, and pulls her towards her car. She clicks on the remote, and he opens the door for her, and stands there for a few seconds until she starts the engine. She looks up at him. There's nothing else to say at this point. He sighs deeply, before walking back to where Danny is standing watching carefully after their every move.

She backs the car slowly, out of the parking space. He stands there, arms crossed, but it doesn't look like he's going to make her stop. When she switches the gears and starting to move, she can hear Danny's question all over the empty parking lot.

"Steve, this was a date, wasn't it?"

Steve's answer is never heard.

* * *

**A/N2**: I'm so sorry. I know I said three parts. But again, this was longer than I have anticipated. Another 4th chapter will be ready soon. One more day for Kono's challenge. There's a room for one more plan.

**Plan H - Saturday night - The ultimate resolution **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Thank you all for reading and following and favoring and especially commenting on this fic. It was a pleasure.

This is the last chapter - honestly...

Please tell me what to think. It will help me think about other things for the future...

R.

* * *

"Are you avoiding me?"

"How can I be avoiding you? I'm speaking to you right now."

"I have called you forty five times since morning. This is the first time you answer."

"Forty six..." she grumbles.

"Oh, ok. That's make it all right, then..."

"I was busy" she huffs, crashing on the couch, the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She really has no energy for this conversation.

"Busy? on a Saturday morning? doing what?" Malia asks from the other side of the line.

"I went surfing, and grocery shopping, and then I was cleaning the house and... "

"_Cleaning_?!" Malia shrieks in astonishment "oh dear, is it _that_ bad!?"

"You're very funny" she notifies her. "Well... it isn't good...". Judging by the noises coming from the other side of the line, she can tell Malia is getting settled and preparing for a lengthy and detailed conversation "look, Malia. I'm not in the mood for an elaborated..."

"I don't care, sweetie" she says not unkindly "start talking, or I'll come over. With Chin."

"I'll be happy to talk to you, then" she says dryly. She was able to avoid her for almost two days, sending her short texts with framework details about the date last night. She knows perfectly well, Malia needs to hear all about it.

They talk about the _incident _in HPD, and she tells her everything without missing a single detail. About the steamy sparring, and the touching, and the way he was looking at her, and the way her whole body was reacting to the sight of him, to his movements, and to the way she could feel his breaths on her skin. She tells her about every touch, every spike of electricity, every warm wave of need he created in her. She tells all of it, and Malia stays very very quiet for a long long time. When she reaches the end, she can hear Malia taking a deep calming breath and telling her to wait for a few seconds, because she has to go get a glass of cold water. It takes her more than a few seconds, and she can hear in the background the water running and splashing on flesh.

"Are you all right?" Kono asks hesitatingly when she's back.

"Jeez, Kono" Malia mumbles "your stupid and crazy adventures are better than a porn movie."

"It _was_ kinda sexual..." she admits "until I punched him, that is..."

"You were totally right to do it, by the way" Malia clarifies "and lucky, too. Can you imagine what would have happened if Duke found you two fucking each other in his precious new training center?"

"Still. He was in pure shock when I did it" Kono cringes to the memory "and so was I..."

"I can see why punching your boss, would be a problem. But, you were able to get a date out of him afterwards, so as surprising as it might be, it wasn't a deal breaker for him, after all..." Malia says encouragingly.

"A deal breaker?" Kono dismisses "you can say _that_ again. I could see the look he had in his eyes when I stood there above him... I mean, the guy is insane. I think he was actually turned on..."

()()()

It starts all over again. She sits on her couch, looking around her at the currently spotless and pleasantly and nicely organized house, listening to Malia crying with laughter on the other side of the line. For god sakes it's becoming a pattern by now. She tries to say a few words in between, but it's not working. She goes to the kitchen and looking for something to eat.

"Ok, ok." Malia takes a hold on herself eventually "sorry, about that."

"You always say it, but I really doubt if you mean it" Kono accuses "you're awful, I can't tell you anything."

"Don't be ridiculous" Malia says brightly "you love to talk to me. Who else would listen to all these crazy adventures and automatically be on your side?" She has a point, she'd admit it, for now. But somehow she has the feeling the girl has another agenda altogether, when it comes to her _adventures_ with Steve. She has a momentary fear that she tapes their phone conversations and play them back to Chin and Danny, and the three of them just sit there and having the laugh of their lives. "Tell me about the date night. This was when you went off the grid. I am anxiously waiting to hear about it, because I was sure that even _you_ wouldn't be able to screw this one up."

"It wasn't me this time." she sighs miserably. To Malia's credit she can immediately spot the different and more tormented tone "I think god hates me."

"God, doesn't hate you, honey"

"If not him, then Danny does."

"This is even _more_ ridiculous" Malia says gently "Danny adores you. You're his favorite person on the team. Well, after his beloved Steve, but I think he considers him as some kind of a troubled kid he needs to protect, so it's a completely different thing."

"Anyway..." Kono sighs again, trying to push away Malia's suggestion that Steve is a child. The way she thinks, and dreams about him, and about his body... that would actually make it sick, and disturbing, and practically illegal, and she's a cop, after all... "It started really well" she focuses again "he looked divine, and he stood up when I came in."

"Really?" Malia asks in surprise "that's... that's actually amazing. I wasn't aware he had it in him."

"Yeah" Kono smiles despite of herself "neither did I."

She tells her about everything, about the nice meal, and the tasty wine. About sitting with him, talking about work and about his family, and about how comfortable she was feeling, and how happy and... well... she tells her about how with every second, she felt she was falling more and more in love.

"Oh, Kono..." Malia says quietly.

"I know, I know" she says quickly "I'm making a terrible mistake."

"No, sweetie" Malia cries "I'm so happy for you. I think it's great."

"You do?" Kono asks in astonishment "he's my boss, he's older. He's unpredictable, and capricious and he does those crazy stunts like throwing people off buildings, and trying to blow up other people with grenades..."

"Yes" she can practically hear Malia smiling behind her words "he's so suitable for you. It's amazing."

"Common, give me a break..."

"He's the only guy you would find interesting enough, and you are the only one who would be a perfect challenge for him. I'm telling you sweetie, it's a perfect match."

"Don't get all over yourself" Kono says hesitatingly "it's not a big Hollywood movie romance here, it's just a stupid, week long challenge. Where not only was I unsuccessful in completing my initial mission, but was also able to create a terrible mess. It's awful, I never meant it to get so complicated... never planned on it to be more than just a crazy, harmless bet..."

"He was there on the beach for a reason. You've closed your eyes, and he appeared. You can't deny it was fate..."

"Fate?" Kono asks in suspicion "fate...?" she thinks she's finally realizing something.

"Yes. I was there, remember?"

"Oh, _I remember_" she cries "_you saw him coming_ _towards us_, didn't you? this is why you let me go on with this stupidity. You _traitor_! you _sneaky._.. _person_! _you_..."

"Actually, I would prefer, a _good friend_!" she cuts her off.

There's a long silence, when the both of them just wait for the other one to break it first. She can't fucking believe it. She should have known something was up by the way Malia was on board with all the craziness so fast. She thinks about the last week. About the awkward moments, about her constant failures, her mistakes, and his reactions. Then she thinks about him looking at her from across the table, his hand covering hers. She knows perfectly well, nothing good could have ever come out of it, but those precious moments were worth it, because that's what she really wants. She smiles when she realizes this. It's a miserable timing, really. The smile soon disappears when she remembers how the last evening came to an end.

"It doesn't matter, anymore" she says finally "after Danny came and started with all his questions, I could see him realizing how dangerous it is. He couldn't wait a moment longer before he pushed me to my car, and chased me away."

"Kono, I don't know what to tell you..."

"There's nothing to tell. It's probably for the best."

"You have another evening, until your deadline" Malia suggests "it's only eight in the evening Saturday night. You have until 11 AM tomorrow. You can give him a call and try to..."

"Oh no. I'm throwing the towel on this one" Kono smiles "it's fine. Don't worry. As sooner we get back to routine, the better. At the end of the day, we didn't cross any line, so with a little luck we can probably recover from this."

"You want me to come over?" Malia asks quickly "we'll have a girls night, with ice cream and some stupid chick flicks on the DVD..." she really wants to take Malia up on her offer. Really really wants to...

"No. Thanks, Malia. You stay home with Chin, he probably misses you, too."

"You sure? I'll explain it to him, you know he'll understand..."

"No. I'm sure. Thanks, though. I'll have an early night. Probably go to bed soon. I'll be fine."

They disconnect the line, after Malia notifies her she'll be there first thing tomorrow morning. They make plans to go to the beach together and have breakfast just the two of them, and it sounds good. Almost normal.

Thirty minutes later, when there's a knock on the door, she guesses Malia just couldn't stand leaving her alone, after all. She's a good friend, but it's completely unnecessary. She walks to the door to tell her exactly that, smiling at her friend's loyalty.

She opens the door in her sleeping wear. Ready to tell Malia to go back to her husband, but instead of her dear and nosy friend, she sees Steve standing there, hands behind his back, staring straight at her.

* * *

**Plan H - Saturday night - The ultimate resolution **

"Hi" he says tightly.

She is so shocked, she can't say anything. Just to watch him silently with her mouth half opened.

"Eeemmm, can I come in?" he tries again, but the result is the same. She is only able to furrow her brow in concentration, trying to wrap her brain around his appearance at her door. She can see he's getting worried by her silent reaction. Unfortunately, she can't really help him with that. He should probably be thankful for the fact that she's able to keep the door open, at this point.

"I brought ice cream" he makes another attempt. Well these are probably the magic words, because it makes her finally get a grip, and step aside, so he could step in.

She brings spoons from the kitchen, and they settle on her couch. She tastes the ice cream, it's bloody amazing. Creamy, and chocolate flavored, and fatty and sinfully awesome. It's her favorite kind. He was totally spot on. He holds his spoon beside her, smiling a little when he sees her devouring the cold content of the bucket.

"Want some?" she offers, with her mouth full. But he has other things on his mind.

"Did I miss something?" he asks suddenly "were you hitting on me?" It's lucky he's there to clap her back when he asks this, because she almost chokes to death on the spot.

()()()

"Well?" he asks again when she recovers. He's always like that, when he has something on his mind, he never lets it go.

"What gave you this impression?" she mumbles dryly, amazed at herself and at this pathetic discussion.

"If I'm being completely honest... Danny did. After you left yesterday. He was quite adamant about this, it took me almost half an hour to make him stop shouting at me."

"Then I guess I was" she shakes her head in self contempt "the mere fact that Danny had to explain it to you, is a proof of how stupid I was to even try it."

"It's not only Danny" he mumbles sheepishly "I could also tell something was... different, this whole past week. You were..."

"A crazy lunatic? yes, I know."

"No" he looks at her in surprise "why do you say that?"

"Steve, in the last week I got so drunk you had to carry me home, I've insulted the Navy in front of you in the most inconsiderate way, I left you on the beach without a ride home, I punched you and broke your nose... hitting on you? it sounds more like I was your own personal _hitting squad_."

"We had dinner with your family, we made out on my sofa, we went hiking in the prettiest place on the island, we went surfing, that was pretty awesome by the way" he smiles "we had a great work up in HPD, well... until you punched me... and then we had a date, apparently" he smiles awkwardly, scratching his head "I have to admit, we haven't even had a case, but it was one of the best weeks I've ever had."

She looks at him silently. He looks back at her. Then he moves, and takes the ice cream bucket and spoon from her hands, and puts them on the table. She follows his every move. The way he turns in his place in front of her, the way he sends his hand to stroke her hair slowly, and moves his thumb on her lower lip. She gasps as he gets even closer, leaning against her, his warm breaths caressing her cheek and her ear.

"We never actually concluded that make out session we started" he whispers against her skin "now, that I'm here, can we have another trial?"

She moans quietly, when his lips touch under her ear, she can feel his hand moves on her leg. The electricity is back. Oh god, this is so good...

"Wait" she calls suddenly, and holds him by his shoulders, keeping him at bay. It's more than just a hook up for her, at this point. But for him, she's not really sure... She can't risk falling for him, if he's not there with her on this. She simply has to know.

"What?" he asks in surprise "what's wrong?"

"Fine. I already broke two of Danny's rules" she says in resignation "I can break one more."

"Rules?" he looks at her, puzzled "what rules?"

"No trashing the Navy, Not eating junk food around you..." she starts listing them for him.

"Yeah. You certainly broke those..." he mumbles. "OK, give me the third one."

"You sure?" he only nods "never ask you straight out about your feelings."

"These are really good rules" he agrees. She probably looks a bit crestfallen, because she can see how he bites his lower lip and says "I guess we're already past that point anyway. So... go ahead. Give me your best shot."

"How do you feel about me? what do you want? you're looking for sex, or for something more serious? Do you think that with you being my boss, any of this might actually work?"

He looks at her with alarm. A straight question is the _understatement of the year_. It's the fear mingled with hope that she feels, that must be reflected in her eyes when she watches him, that make him respond, at the end.

"I want you." he says simply "I want you, with me, all the time. I have never met anyone like you, or felt anything similar" he hooks his arms around her waist as he pulls her towards him "boss or no boss, you're mine."

It's all that she needs. The next second she's on top of him, lacing her long arms around his neck, her legs pin him to the couch. She crashes her lips on his mouth and kisses him violently, whimpering at his taste in her mouth. She trembles at his touch and at the feral cry he produces when she moves above him, sucking the living life out of him. He sends his hand under her top, his other one moves to his cargo pants, to open the button. It's electrifying, and burning, and overwhelming, and it reminds her of the mission she puts upon herself in the last week, and she realizes, this is not the way it should happen...

"No, Steve. Stop." she manages to find the strength to stop him. He looks at her wildly, his lips swollen from her kiss. It's obvious he thinks she's crazy. "We can't do it." she tells him regretfully "not today, anyway..."

"You're joking" he groans in frustration "what now?" she bites her lower lip with guilt. She would really rather not say, even though he might lose his patience with her completely... "Fine" he says finally, when he realizes she won't explain "just... give me a few minutes... to... you know... then, we can watch a movie or something."

()()()

They watch a movie for a couple of hours. It's fun and comfortable, as they talk, and laugh about all sorts of things. It's especially good, when he puts his arm around her shoulders, and moves her legs to his lap. She smiles at him, and he smiles back, and they kiss some more, but he doesn't push it further. She is so happy to be with him, she's practically beaming. Then they move to her bed, and just sleep against each other. It's a beautiful, beautiful night.

()()()

She wakes up when he tries to move from beneath her, doing it with the gracefulness of a grizzly bear.

"No. Don't go" she mumbles sleepily.

"I'll be back" he kisses her on her forehead "I'm just going for a quick run."

"What time is it?" she asks, holding him around his neck, forcing him for another kiss.

"It's late. It's already eight o'clock" he chuckles before he kisses her thoroughly and hungrily as she wishes. "I'll go home to get my shoes, and have my run. I'll be back in less than two hours. Go back to sleep. We'll have breakfast, later" he says before he leaves.

When he's back, she's still in bed. He takes off his running shoes, and his sweaty clothes, and heads for the shower. When he's practically naked, in the hallway, he hears someone getting into the house. Before he has the time to turn around and search for his gun, he sees Malia standing in front of him, looking at his naked body.

()()()

He holds his sweaty tee shirt in a strategic place. She stands in front of him covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh at his mortification.

"Well, then. I guess she completed her task" she smiles brightly "she's the most dedicated girl in the history if men kind. I knew she would pull it off."

He looks at her dumbstruck, a thousand scenarios running in his mind. He can practically imagine Chin's face when she tells him. He tries the most used up line in history "it's not what it looks like."

"It's fine, Steve" she laughs "you _really_ don't have to explain." She makes her way to the kitchen, putting the bag of sweets and ice cream she brought.

"No, wait. Malia. You got it all wrong..."

"It's fine, Steve. Really" she assures him when he runs after her to the kitchen "I know exactly what's going on."

He looks at her in distress. He is aware that girls talk about _everything_. But... how can she say she understands what's going on, when he can't understand it himself?

"I'm out of here. Don't worry" she says when she puts everything away "have a nice time, if you still have the energy... and don't worry, I won't tell Chin. Yet."

He just stands there, rooted to the floor. Tries to analyze the situation, and to understand the implications. He can hear Malia chuckle when she moves past him. There was something she said...

"What task?"

"What?" Malia's hand is on the door knob already.

"What task, Malia?" he sends her a steady glare.

()()()

She tells him everything. About their initial discussion on the beach, about the bet, and his appearance. Tells him about the plans, and their carefully detailed formation. Tells him about their glorious failures, and the heartaches they caused. Tells about last night, and about Kono finally letting it go.

He stands there, in front of her. Silent. Severe expression on his face. She can't tell if he's mad, or hurt or simply shell-shocked.

"I see" he says at last.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I thought you knew... I thought..."

"It's quite all right, Malia" he says quietly "you can go home, now." She turns back to the door, sighing in regret. She feels like she just blew up Kono's bubble of happiness. "What was the deadline?" he asks when she's already half way out the door.

"11 AM" she tells him, puzzled "half an hour from now."

He doesn't say anything, and she leaves quietly. Closing the door behind her.

()()()

"What are you doing?" she asks in surprise when he takes off her blanket "you're wet. You're dripping all over me."

"Wake up, we have little time."

"Little time for what?" she asks, and shrieks when he sends a wet and cold hand behind her back "Steve!" she shouts "what are you doing?" he only moves her arms up, and takes off her top.

"It's ten thirty three" he tells her seriously, as he lies on top of her, his hands starting to peel off her pants.

"Is it some kind of a magic number?" she wonders "oh god!" she cries when he kisses her breast.

"In the Five-0 task force, we never leave a mission incomplete" he reminds her "we're supposed to be the perfect example of a high achieving, loyal and dedicated law enforcement team for everyone else."

She really tries to concentrate, and understand what he's saying, it's not as easy as he might think, with his hand between her thighs.

"Steve... fuck" she moans and holds him against her, for a desperate kiss.

"When we're given a mission, we make sure it happens, no matter the risks."

"I'm sure this lovely pep talk has its own little purpose." she tells him "yes. Right there" she sighs loudly, when he nibbles at her neck "but you think, we can maybe, have it later? when I'm actually listening..."

"Later?" he looks at her incredulously "we have a little more than twenty minutes, how much later do you want to push it?"

"Twenty minutes?" she looks at him with confusion "before you turn into a pumpkin...?"

"Before 11 AM, Sunday morning" he sends her a questioning look "we had the entire night to do it, but for some reason, you brought us to this late stage of the game. Were you trying to make it harder on yourself? just as an extra challenge?"

"You know!" she cries, clapping her hand on her mouth in mortification "I'm so sorry, Steve. I didn't want it to start as a stupid bet.. I wanted it pure and real, and..."

"I really dig your high moral values" he shakes his head in exasperation "I really do. But I'm sorry. I can't _not meet a challenge_ heads-on, and if I know you well enough, neither can you..."

"So...?" she looks at him straight in the eyes "are we...?"

"As I said" he repeats patiently "we have twenty minutes. We can still make it..." his last statement is swollen by her deep and feral cry. She pulls him against her, forcefully, and he lets her do it willingly, kissing her with a deep and happy smile. They move together, quickly and violently, as all the need and want and frustration of the last week wash away from their bodies and souls. They make it just on time, panting and sweating, and laughing like crazies. Then, they do it all over again. But this time they take it slow.


End file.
